Foggy days in India.
We made it! After a long, arduous trip we arrived in India late Thursday night. OP (Dr. Ashish’s right-hand man) met us at the airport to transport us to the clinic. The fog was so thick we couldn’t see the other jets parked on the different concourses, or discern any of the buildings. It was kind of spooky in a way, but it was also just India. Winter is in season here too, so fog is normal this time of year. We just hadn’t seen any that thick – ever. It was 60*F when we landed, so to us it felt wonderful, but as we had to wait for our luggage, Kathy and I both seriously overheated. Too many polar fleece garments on for the cold back home. On the way to the clinic, OP and the taxi driver were cranking up the heater, complaining of the cold as I was rolling down the windows trying to keep from passing out from heat exhaustion. The streets of Delhi were erie with the fog shrouding the bustling traffic and muting the beeping horns. We finally collapsed into our room a little after midnight. I was toast from the exhausting trip, not having slept much on the plane, but thank God Kathy had enough energy to organize things enough to make room for our luggage and get me into bed. I crashed, not hearing her continued noise as she put things up so she could make her bed on the floor.
Street view from our room: cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, fruit/bike cart, wheeled cart, laundry hanging to dry, and lots of dust and fog.
The sisters (nurses) told us, when we arrived at NuTech and got signed in, that I already had a procedure scheduled for the next day. This was welcome news, even though we were too tired to think. It was heartening Dr. Shroff and Dr. Ashish plan to schedule as many procedures as my body can take because of the limited time-frame we have to deal with and are going to pump as many stem cells into my body as possible. I believe that the volume of stem cells is equally important as to the frequency they are received.
Friday dawned early for us. I struggled with jet lag, not sleeping well during the night and unable to stay in bed because of the discomfort my body was suffering. Kathy and I got up to watch the dawn, but the fog was so thick we couldn’t even see across the street. It was difficult to believe we were actually here, but looking out the window and at the furnishing of our room we knew it was true. We are lucky to be in a street-side room on the 3rd floor (4th to us – here they call the first floor “0″). The street feels like it is a long way down, but we can still see out and watch all the excitement and events. The sisters came by and said I was scheduled for physio with my therapist Shivani, then after lunch my procedure would be here at NuTech. Kathy and I reintroduced ourselves to the sisters we remembered and met new ones. Shivani greeted us warmly. After filling out a recent medical history, she got to work trying to stretch out my miserable body. I was so stiff. It felt like each of my legs were filled with concrete, and that all of my joints had been super glued. It felt like my body was someone else’s. Too strange, I’ve never felt these types of sensations before. Shivani kept it light and easy.
Skyline construction workers.
The street is so busy … with all modes of travel. Just amazing to watch.
After lunch, Dr. Ashish’s technicians and OP, came calling. They hauled me to the operating theatre, where Dr. Ashish injected stem cells into the muscles in my lower, right lumbar area. It didn’t take long, especially with us talking and asking questions of each other. Kathy went over to the local market to get our needed supplies, having them delivered to the room. I rested and put the word out on Facebook that we were alive and made it safely here. Kathy worked around the room until exhaustion caught up with her, we both crashed for a couple of hours, missing yoga. We ate, watched some TV, and turned in early, still not recovered from the trip.
Travelling cart with beans and lentils.
It was another ugly night for me. Slept OK until around 4:00 am then my body wouldn’t relax. It spasmed relentlessly. As a result, I was tired and stiff at therapy. Kathy says there’s something to sleeping on the floor and not being in the same bed with me! Didn’t matter much, though; she was awake and up for the day by 5:15 anyway.
Several puppies and their parents live in the lot across the street.
It’s funny how all of the Indians are all bundled up against the cold and we are running our air-conditioner in the room, and wearing short-sleeve shirts because we’re too hot. We went outside to sit in the sun and watch people this afternoon – the temp was a great 69*F. I am white, pasty and feel like crap. I am exhausted. Hopefully I will sleep tonight and feel better in the morning. Tomorrow, Sunday, we are going to the Hyatt Hotel for lunch, taking a tut-tut and seeing the sights. More to follow. Kathy will proof this and add a couple of pictures. Bye.
PS. I dropped our Steripen today (ultra-violet light used to sterilize water). It is non-functioning now. We’ll have to buy all of our water now, where I use to sterilize the water for dishwashing and such. Bummer!
We are interesting too.
